


Feels Like Home

by amitiel



Category: FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Gay, King Noctis Lucis Caelum, Love, M/M, Older Noctis Lucis Caelum, Older Prompto Argentum, Oneshot, PTSD, Valentine's Day, characters get together after a long time apart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22729795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amitiel/pseuds/amitiel
Summary: This is the next oneshot for Valentine's Day 2020!Thank you to korbend on tumblr for giving me the prompt of Promptis cuddles!Summary: Noctis is now king and Prompto is doing everything he can to ensure that the king doesn't discover he loves him, even if it's at a great detriment to himself.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 8
Kudos: 94





	Feels Like Home

Prompto was sitting in his room, alone for the millionth time. While he didn’t think anything of it, necessarily, it also bothered him that he was alone. Right now he was fighting his own loneliness, and he was losing miserably. The only thing he wanted was to reach out and talk to someone, but it was hard. How could he inconvenience the king or his royal advisor or his sworn shield when they had royal matters to attend to? Prompto was just a clone, a horrible amalgamation of science and self-loathing. There was no way that he could even think about bothering them.

Since they had all survived the Starscourge, since they had all fought so hard and somehow won with no fatalities, Noctis had become the best king to date, picking up the pieces while they set out and took care of matters that needed to be personally discussed. Prompto had moved into the palace at Noctis’s behest, even though he felt entirely too inadequate to be there. Even after all the time, after being the one who had insisted that Noctis would be back more than any of them, he didn’t feel like he was enough to be with the three of them. Watching Ignis and Gladio fall in love was even harder, knowing that it was something he could never have.

Noctis was now the king, and Prompto was going to have to watch the man he loved rule with a kind yet firm hand. He had to watch him from afar. When he was in high school he had realized that he loved Noctis from the beginning. When he had been engaged to Lunafreya he had only supported their union despite his own heartache. Now that he was king, he would support Noctis in his quest to rule Eos and repair the pain and hurt that Ardyn had caused. There was no room for Prompto’s emotions, his love, his desire. There was only a place for him as a loyal subject and servant to the king.

It made the nights and days so much lonelier, something he thought he was past after Eos had come out of its perpetual darkness. He had spent ten years rallying the troops, keeping everyone together, and trying to get Ignis and Gladio to reunite. Now that they were together, now that they were talking again, it was as if all the hard work that he had put into keeping everyone together was just forgotten. Ignis was once again Noctis’s chamberlain, Gladio was once again his sworn shield. And where did that leave Prompto? Alone and abandoned. 

He didn’t blame Noctis, or Ignis, or Gladio. Noctis had a kingdom to rule, and Prompto would always go out of his way to make sure the king was happy. He couldn’t say no to Noctis and always promised to be at his side. If that meant leaving Insomnia and going on a hunt by himself, he was happy to do it. If it meant being alone, he would take the ache in his heart and turn it into something productive. Ignis and Gladio had to be by Noctis’s side. Prompto could be sent wherever he was needed.

Right now, though, Prompto was tired. He had just gotten back from a trip to Lestallum, helping the citizens by restoring power to the grid and order to the people. Stepping into his small room in the palace, Prompto took off his kingsguard regalia and put it on a hanger. He took a shower in his bathroom, preferring the small size of the room to the large open space that he had been offered. Being in such a large room would have made him feel even lonelier. He didn’t need a reminder that he was on his own anymore.

Prompto’s room was simple, just what he needed since he was often sent on missions out of the palace anyway. It was a small room with a bed, a dresser, and a television. There was a coffee table and a private bathroom where he could shower and take care of himself. A full length mirror ran along a wardrobe where he kept his required attire for formal events, although the last time a formal event took place was when he had been sent to Galdin Quay to assist the people there. 

Prompto had a growing sense that Noctis didn’t really want him there anymore. After all, he didn’t belong. Now that he knew that Prompto was a clone, now that he actually had a chance to think about it, there was no way Noctis would want him nearby. The constant missions, the running him ragged, the loneliness, it was all an indication that one day Prompto would be asked to leave and never return. He had to prepare for that day and was beginning to think about planning his own out. It would break his heart and he would never recover from it, but it was no less than what he deserved. Prompto was a clone and didn’t deserve love, let alone from someone like the king of Eos.

Sitting on the floor, Prompto leaned against the bed, tilting his head back as he closed his eyes. He had a gun in his hand until he got frustrated enough to let it clatter on the coffee table in front of him, cursing at himself for ever thinking that he could befriend someone like Noctis and expect the friendship to last. It was his own damn fault for falling in love with him in the first place, and right now he just wanted to get the ache in his heart to stop. But there was no stopping the longing he felt for Noctis, no stopping the pure and selfless love he felt for him.

If Noctis told him to kill someone, he would do it. Noctis had never led him astray before, and he knew there would be a good reason for everything he did. That was how much he trusted his king. If Noctis rejected him, as Prompto knew he would eventually, then it was only because he deserved it. The king could never be friends with a clone, and Prompto was deluding himself to think that he deserved to love the king so purely. It was selfish of him to think he would want to monopolize the king’s attention, and he was going to do anything he could to avoid letting him know. The sooner Noctis knew, the sooner he would be disgusted with him and reject him completely. 

Half asleep, Prompto startled when he heard a soft rapping on his door. He tried not to groan, instead sighing in frustration, wondering what report he had missed, what mission he was being sent on next. It was just one night. One night of sleep without nightmares was something he needed desperately. But the chances of him getting that when there was work to be done was slim to none. So he got up, his body protesting angrily in its weary ache, and he opened the door to his room.

Prompto expected to see a soldier, a glaive, or even Ignis or Gladio on the other side with another assignment for him. He didn’t expect to see Noctis standing there, a bouquet of roses in one hand with a bottle of champagne in another. He looked nervous, dressed down from his normal kingly regal attire to nice black pants and a button up black shirt, the top two buttons undone so his collar bone was exposed. Prompto thought he looked beautiful and smelled delightful, and his heart immediately sunk into the pit of his stomach. Noctis was going on a date. He was moving on, just as Ignis and Gladio were. They were all leaving him behind.

“Your majesty,” Prompto said stiffly, wondering why Noctis was at his door if he was getting ready to pursue some young woman who would one day be queen. Why was Noctis stepping into his room, holding such romantic gestures that were never meant for someone like Prompto? Was he finally tired of his presence to the point where he wanted him to leave before he had a chance to really unwind and settle into his bed for the night?

“Come on, Prom,” Noctis said awkwardly as Prompto shut the door, a silence between them that echoed in the room. “You know you don’t have to call me that.”

“Sure thing, your majesty,” Prompto said, automatically using his title without thinking. He laughed nervously, running his hand over the back of his head. “What brings you here today? Are you looking for dating advice or something? You’re a king, so I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“Well, it’s Valentine’s Day,” Noctis said, a slight blush on his cheeks as he looked away from Prompto. He seemed nervous, and Prompto wondered who the lucky lady was to make the king’s heart flutter so anxiously. It made him sad to know that he would one day have to pretend he was happy the king was marrying someone other than him. 

Prompto took a deep breath, preparing his speech that he had thought of time and time again. It was the same thing that he knew he was going to say when Noctis and Lunafreya were married. It was what he was going to say before he had to endure anymore pain and heartache, knowing that Noctis was going to be with someone other than him. It was the beginning of the end for him, and he knew it. 

“I’m happy for you-” Prompto said rapidly at the same time Noctis blurted out, “These are for you!”

There was a silence in the room as Prompto looked at Noctis with wide eyes, his heart hammering in his chest in disbelief. Noctis was looking at him with a blush on his face, holding out the champagne bottle and roses for Prompto to take. Prompto could only stare at the gifts, wondering if this was some sort of cruel joke. Noctis was telling him this because he was pitying him, wasn’t he? His heart was hammering painfully in his chest, his eyesight blurring with tears, knowing that he couldn’t handle such a painful joke. Someone had to have told Noctis that he loved him and was just trying to let him down gently. 

“What?” Prompto asked finally, not fully comprehending what Noctis was saying. Was he giving him this gift so then he could ask him to leave? Was this his final push to get Prompto out in the best way possible? Noctis was such a great person and a great king that of course he would be kind when he asked Prompto to leave the palace for good. He was never one to celebrate Valentine’s Day, not even when he had been engaged to Lunafreya, so him giving Prompto these gifts had to be something he intended for Prompto to leave with.

“Well,” Noctis said slowly, his blush growing on his face. Prompto felt like he looked so beautiful, his facial hair so soft that he was tempted to reach out and touch him. “It’s been a long time, and you’ve been working hard.”

“Oh,” Prompto replied, his heart sinking yet again. Was some part of him still expecting something? He told himself to get his act together before he really let his tears fall. “Well, thanks, your majesty. I really appreciate it. You know me, ever at your side. Just say the word, and I’m gone and-”

Prompto let out a small sob, barely a strangled squeak, as he prepared for Noctis to give him the oddly romantic gifts before asking him to leave for good. He couldn’t say the words. He couldn’t tell Noctis that he was okay with being forced out, alone in the world now that he was no longer needed. Despite how much he had wanted to do whatever Noctis asked of him, it was just too much of an ask. He loved Noctis too much, too selfishly, to be able to just willingly leave.

“Prom?” Noctis asked in concern. He quickly set the champagne and roses on the table, forgetting about them as he turned to Prompto. Prompto buried his face in his hands, hiding his tears and pain, wondering why life had to be so cruel to him as to make him fall in love with someone who could never love him back. He had been without Noctis for ten years, and now he was going to have to say goodbye to him permanently.

“I’m sure,” Prompto began, sobbing between words. He was practically hyperventilating, his heart breaking again and again and again. “Whoever you end up with will be very happy. You will have a happy marriage with a lucky woman. I’ll… I’ll get my bags and leave.”

“What are you talking about?” Noctis asked as he pulled Prompto into a tight hug. “Prom… I’m sorry I haven’t been here in the past ten years. I wish I didn’t have to go. But I’m back now, and you’re here. Why would I want you to leave? Wait, do you think that I’m giving you this stuff as a parting gift?”

“Why-Why else would you give it to me?” Prompto asked, his lungs seizing as he began to hyperventilate in earnest. “There’s no way s-someone like you would l-love someone l-like m-me. You’re a king, and I’m a c-c-clone.”

Prompto didn’t know what was going on. His mind was lost in his pain, his heart shattering as he thought of what was about to come. Noctis pulled him towards the bed. He sat down and pulled Prompto with him, forcing the blond to sit on his lap sideways. Prompto didn’t know why Noctis was being so kind to him, but right now the only thing he could do was wrap his arms around Noctis’s neck and bury his face into the crook of the king’s shoulder and neck and sobbing. He cried, thinking that Noctis’s arms wrapped tightly around him, holding him close, felt so warm and comforting that it was almost as if Noctis loved him. It was a pipedream, one that would never come to fruition.

“Prompto, I need you to listen to me,” Noctis said seriously as Prompto sobbed. Prompto nodded into his neck, his lips grazing Noctis’s skin unintentionally, creating the stirrings of desire in him that he wasn’t supposed to feel. “I came here because you’ve been so busy doing everything that I have asked that I have missed you too much. I thought sending you on these missions would help, but it’s only made it worse. Prompto, I love you and have loved you for years now. Long before Lunafreya and I were engaged. I can’t imagine life without you. Please don’t go anywhere. Stay in my arms forever. I may be the king of Eos, but I want you to be my king.”

Prompto couldn’t understand what Noctis was saying. He heard him, he felt him, but he couldn’t understand him. It was the exact opposite of what he had expected. Noctis was supposed to push him out, to send him away so he could live alone. He didn’t expect a confession of love. It had to be some cruel joke. Gladio or Ignis told him that Prompto loved him and he had the idea to do this. It was the only reasonable explanation for it, even though he knew Noctis was never that unkind or cruel to do something so horrible. But what other explanation could it be? That Noctis was telling the truth?

“Prompto?” Noctis asked, his hands sliding over Prompto’s back as he pulled away from the embrace. Prompto sat up straight, looking at Noctis as the king reached out and wiped his tears away gently from his face. It was a tender touch, gentle and kind, tender and loving like Noctis was telling the truth. It made Prompto’s heart ache more as he leaned his face into Noctis’s palm, feeling the warmth of his fingers on his skin. “You’re burning up, Prompto. Are you sick?”

“Maybe?” Prompto asked, suddenly feeling very tired now that Noctis had pointed it out.

He had been working himself to the bone, going on mission after mission, trying to do anything he could to prove that he was worth keeping around, never saying no to Noctis even though he knew one day that Noctis would push him away for good. There was never a moment of rest, and tonight was supposed to be the night he could finally get some sleep. But the nightmares were terrible, his memories of the ten years of darkness plaguing his thoughts awake or asleep, and he often couldn’t sleep at all. It wouldn’t shock him at all if he had a fever from his stress.

“It’s my fault,” Noctis said as he looked at Prompto with a pained expression that made Prompto’s heart ache. The king shouldn’t have worried about him. He had so much else to worry about. “I asked too much of you. I wanted you to go out and do so much for me because I was afraid that keeping you close would make me lose my composure. It didn’t work. I can’t resist you no matter where you are in the world. Please forgive me, Prompto. I love you and I shouldn’t have acted like this. I shouldn’t have pushed you away to try and keep myself in check. I need to admit the truth, and the truth is I love you. Please forgive me, even if you don’t love me in return.”

“What?” Prompto asked, startled by the admission and Noctis’s disbelief that Prompto could love him as well. The more Noctis was telling him that he loved him, the more Prompto was beginning to think that maybe he was telling the truth. Either way, there was no chance that Prompto was going to let Noctis believe that he didn’t love him. “What are you talking about? Of course I love you, Noctis. I’ve loved you from the moment we first met when we were kids. I just never admitted it because you’re… Well, now you’re the freaking king of the world! Literally! There’s no way I could be worthy of being by your side. And then there was Lunafreya and-”

Noctis pressed his lips against Prompto’s, sudden and strong, silencing Prompto’s ramblings about how he loved him but couldn’t ever tell him the truth. Prompto felt his heart bursting, his heartache turning to a sweetness that he never experienced before in his life. Prompto had been with both men and women, but it had never been anything so wonderful as this. Noctis’s lips were soft, delicious and comforting. It was as if Prompto’s lips belonged with Noctis’s, that they had just so naturally worked that they had been fools to miss it until now. Everything about Noctis felt like home.

“Prompto,” Noctis breathed as he pulled away from the kiss, keeping Prompto on his lap as he pressed his forehead against Prompto’s, his hand still on the blond’s cheek. “I love you. Please, love me too.”

“Always,” Prompto replied, losing his will to fight the notion that Noctis loved him. He caved into Noctis’s touch, his body screaming for every ounce of time he had with Noctis. “Ever at your side.”

Noctis kissed him again, just as gentle and welcoming. Prompto felt weak, exhausted from his mission, and the king seemed to pick up on that. As much as both of them wanted to spend the night making love, Noctis and Prompto laid on the bed. They faced each other, and Prompto felt his heart beating erratically as Noctis put his arm around him, holding him against his chest. Prompto curled into Noctis’s touch, his arm around the king’s waist, his mind both reveling in Noctis’s confession and wavering in his exhausted delirium. Perhaps it was all a fever dream, and he would wake up tomorrow alone once again. 

“Don’t go on anymore missions for a while,” Noctis said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Marry me instead. Love me forever.”

“Is that an order from his majesty?” Prompto asked jokingly, although he wasn’t laughing. Instead he kept his face buried into Noctis’s chest, a smile dancing on his lips as he thought about being with Noctis forever. Had he missed the signs or had Noctis just hid them very well? There had to be something he missed, right?

“What if it is?” Noctis asked, his voice sounding amused. Prompto had his eyes closed, sleep threatening to take him quickly now that he was in Noctis’s arms. Noctis was so comfortable, so naturally fitting beside him. It felt like they had always belonged together even if it took them so long to figure it out. 

“Then I guess I will have to obey my king,” Prompto replied. “I guess I will just have to love you forever.”

Noctis held him tighter, so warm and comforting next to Prompto. Prompto felt relieved, ecstatic in his love for Noctis, but also so very tired and delirious. He felt himself drifting off to sleep, and before he knew it he had fallen asleep. When Prompto woke in the morning, there were several thoughts that crossed his mind. The first was that he had been dreaming it all, but that wasn’t the case. He was still curled into Noctis’s arms while they both slept, the roses and champagne long forgotten. The next was an overwhelming joy that Noctis loved him as he loved Noctis. And the last was that he had actually slept through the night without having one bad dream.

Prompto could have gotten up. He could have started his day and opted to be productive and responsible as always. But he looked at Noctis’s gently sleeping face and decided against it. Instead, he curled into his arms again, only to have Noctis pull him close, sending a flurry of joy and happiness through him that he thought was impossible. It was the best feeling Prompto ever had, and there were no words that could quite match what Prompto was feeling.

He thought about how he was in Noctis’s arms and knew that things were going to finally get better. He felt like he could be happy for the first time in a long time. It felt warm, comforting, peaceful. It felt like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I'm going to write a cute cuddle fic  
> Also me: *proceeds to write this angsty shit*
> 
> Sorry that this was angstier than anticipated! Although I did enjoy writing this! I hope you enjoy it!


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